Says government complicit through inaction on prevention and legislation to protect women

March 9, 2012

A coalition of rights groups yesterday announced the launch of a movement to end all violence against women. The People’s Movement for Elimination of the State’s Violence against Women seeks a zero tolerance policy for violence against women, which organizers say the government has not done enough to prevent. “Through its policies, the state became the main perpetrator of violence against women,” said Anis Hidayah, the movement’s coordinator. “The state lets violence against women keep happening and provided no protection at all.” She added that legislation has been ineffectual and too cumbersome. “Too discriminative policies keep emerging. The legislative process of some bills, such as on protection against domestic workers and gender equality, has seen no progress yet.” More than 100,000 women were victims of violence last year, according to data from the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan). Some 3,753 of those cases involved sexual abuse. “Sexual abuse includes cases of rape, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and sexual control,” said Arimbi Heroepoetri from Komnas Perempuan. Nining Elitos of the Committee on Women’s Freedom said that cases of violence against women have increased nearly 100 percent over the last five years. “Everywhere, especially in Indonesia, women are not yet free from all kinds of oppression.

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